Elliott's First Halloween

Yes, it's a few weeks late, but here are some pictures from Elliott's first Halloween. He went as a bodybuilder, complete with headband. He did have a mustache too, but we couldn't keep it on. The afro and mullet wigs are courtesy of mine and Tracy's "costumes."


Everyone in their costumes.


Elliott and his trainer.

Vacation

I know it's a few weeks late, but here are some pictures from our vacation to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

The whole family went, including Elliott (of course) and even Bailey. We stopped in Chicago first to visit our friend Suzelle, who was kind enough to let the whole crew stay there, and fed us a great meal (pork wrapped in bacon, what could be better?). We stopped at Yolk for breakfast before heading up to Wisconsin. If you're ever in Chicago and want a great breakfast, go there, and trust us, one omlette will feed two, if not more.

We stayed in a little bed and breakfast in Lake Geneva called Eleven Gables Inn. It was very nice, and one of the few places that didn't mind a baby and a dog, plus it was just a few yards away from the lake and we had our own patio.

The lake was very nice, and they have a rule where everyone that builds a house on the lake has to leave room for a path, so that the public can walk all the way around the lake. But since it's 22 miles around, we didn't quite make it all the way. Lake Geneva was a getaway for many of Chicago's elite in the 1900s (Wrigley, Maytag, Marshall Fields family) so there are some large and beautiful homes around, and many do elaborate landscaping along the path. Since we weren't going to walk all the way around the lake, we took a boat tour while let us see pretty much everything, and was Elliott's first time on a boat.

Other first's for Elliott were going outside of the states of Ohio and Kentucky (he added Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin to his list, for those keeping track) and also got to play on the beach in the sand for the first time. Even though it was a bit chilly, Tracy put his feet in the water a little and he enjoyed it. Speaking of water, another fun Lake Geneva fact is that it is the second deepest lake in Wisconsin (~140 feet) and one of the clearest, allowing you to see the bottom of the lake in as much as 30 feet of water.

While we were in the neighborhood, we went up to East Troy and had dinner with our friends the Schroeders, who recently moved to Milwaukee. East Troy was so great, we headed back there Wednesday to visit the Elegant Farmer store. We bought some fresh curds (really fresh cheese that squeaks when you eat it) and the world's greatest apple pie. That is not hyperbole, their apple pie in a brown paper bag is one of the 10 wonders of the food world (along with bacon and breakfast tacos).

Below are a few of the pictures from our trip, and you can see more on our WebGallery here.

Elliott's First Black Gold Festival

We went to Hazard last weekend to visit Tracy's family and so we could enjoy the spectacle that is the Black Gold Festival. This was my second trip to Black Gold, and Elliott's first. Tracy's first Black Gold was the actual first Black Gold Festival, in 1981.

Below are a few pictures from the weekend. You can see more on our WebGallery.

Elliott Says Da-Da

It's official, Elliott has said his first word. This isn't the first time he said it, and he's moving on to other things now.

I was happy that I won. Then Tracy told me it wasn't a contest, so I quit discouraging him from saying ma ma.

Click here to watch the video.

Festivals

Today was the Staley Day of Festivals. First we went to the Beavercreek Popcorn festival, and of all things, had popcorn. We also had some Sarsaparilla root beer, which was very good.

After a little nap (for me, not Elliott) we went to the Greek Festival for dinner. Two gyros and greek fries later, we headed back home.

In addition to the festivals, Tracy took a class and learned how to use the sowing machine. Everyone is getting custom kitchen towels for Christmas.

New Family Photos

We went with some friends of ours to the Cox Arboretum on Labor Day to take pictures. It's much easier to do family photos when you have others to take the pictures for you. The arboretum is very nice, I can't believe we've lived here nearly five years and this was the first time we've been there.

You can check out move of the photos on our Web Gallery here.

Sunday, Elliott style

An average Sunday in the life of an almost seven-month-old:

* Go to church. Play with the cool toys in the nursery while other babies cry.
* Catnap on the way home.
* Rebuff mom's attempts to get me to continue my nap.
* Enjoy lunch of sweet potatoes and avocado; end lunch by fighting for the spoon
* Poop
* Play with blocks, but abandon the toys for a better pursuit: shoes. Pull myself across the floor toward mom's shoes. See them disappear. Spot new object of desire: shiny stray granola bar wrapper under couch. Pull my head and body under the couch. Hear Mom freaking out. Hear Dad come in from the kitchen. Feel him pulling me out from under the couch, the granola wrapper gripped in my hand.
* Nurse
* Take two and a half hour siesta
* Wake in time for the fourth quarter of the UK game.
* Play with Bailey
* Eat a dinner of pureed summer squash and avocado
* Crawl around, whine a little
* Go for a ride in the stroller
* Laugh at a YouTube video of Steven King and his band, the Rock Bottom Remainders
* Go to sleep

This Little Piggy Went to the Market

We took Elliott down to the Webster/2nd Street Market in Dayton, which also has a farmer's market. It's always crowded, even at 9 a.m. on Saturday, but that's a good thing. I'm glad there is a place in Dayton where we can go and get locally grown food, and enjoy coffee and all kinds of food from non-chain restaurants.

We grabbed some vegetables for ourselves, and some to puree in our new food processor for Elliott. It's nice to be able to feed him baby food like sweet potatoes where the only ingredient is sweet potatoes.

We also ran into some friends of ours that were decked out in their Ohio State (or should I say, "The Ohio State") gear for the game. As always, Elliott tries to be the ladies man, going for the older women.

Elliott Crawling

Elliott crawled for the first time yesterday. Well, crawling might me a bit of an exaggeration, more like dragging himself to what he wants. As happy as we are that he is doing what he is supposed to and growing and getting stronger, this also means that I finally have to get around to child-proofing the house.

Maybe we can just tether him to the furniture...

Trip to Lexington

Elliott and I took a trip to Lexington to spend some time with Ashley. We also visited with my uncle Paul and his family, including 3-month-old Braden. Elliott and Braden got a chance to check each other out.


Here are other pictures from the trip: